


The Cell

by songofdefiance



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Human!Outsider, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Pre-Relationship, the Eyeless - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 19:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13196832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songofdefiance/pseuds/songofdefiance
Summary: “Were you truly unaware of their presence?” the Outsider asked.  “All your years doubling as Royal Protector and Spymaster, and you never noticed them?”“I noticed,” Corvo said.  He felt his ears burn.  “They never outwardly caused any trouble.  Nothing overt like what their lieutenants did in Karnaca.  I left them alone.  It always seemed like a better use of my time to handle the Hatters.”“I suppose it would have,” the Outsider said.  “At least, until you learned that your daughter’s life was in danger.  Again.”





	The Cell

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello! This fic was written as a gift for [mayo](http://http://mmthemayo.tumblr.com) on Tumblr, and I had a lot of fun writing it! The title has multiple meanings if you squint, but it's not really that important.

The room that they were both shoved into was barely wide enough to accommodate one man, let alone two.  Fortunately, length-wise, there was more than enough room; thus the Outsider was shoved further into it, while Corvo remained near the front.  Corvo nearly went cross-eyed from staring down the barrel of the gun in front of his face, and he didn’t relax even after the gangster lowered it and slammed the door shut, locking it.

“Well,” the Outsider said.  “You do seem to find yourself in these situations a lot.”

Corvo grunted.  “Doesn’t mean I’m used to it.”

He didn’t think any of the gang members had recognized the Outsider, otherwise they might have been in much worse shape than they already were.  

Corvo turned in a circle, reaching out and brushing his hands along the walls, nearly groaning when he realized that the room (or maybe ‘cell’ was a more appropriate term) was far too narrow.  One of the walls was also sticky with some kind of substance; he quickly withdrew his hand from it, wiping it on his pants.

A shuffling noise made him turn around.  From the light that edged in beneath the door, he could just barely make out that the Outsider had sat down, leaning against the back wall.  Aware that his search for potential ways out was fruitless, Corvo hesitated for a few seconds before he slid down the wall that didn’t have... whatever it was on it.  He really didn’t want it on his clothes, dirtied as they already were from being all but dragged through Dunwall’s sewers.

“Your head,” Corvo reminded him.  He dug beneath his jacket, tearing off a strip of his shirt as a makeshift bandage.  “How does it feel?  Are you dizzy?”

“I was,” the Outsider said, “at first.  I haven’t been dizzy since then.  It just hurts, now.”

Corvo moved over to him, clumsily wrapping the strip of cloth around the Outsider’s head.  He tried to do so as gently as possible, and did his best to ignore the Outsider’s warm breath on his neck.  Thankfully, the Outsider didn’t move an inch, and he tied the bandage off successfully.  

“Don’t go to sleep,” he warned.  “If you start feeling sleepy, try to say something.”

“Very well.”

Corvo moved away again, leaning against the wall closer to the door of the cell.  

“Quite the setup they’ve got here,” he muttered.  They’d been taken to an area in the sewers that could almost be considered a small village.  Various rooms dotted the maze of tunnels, and even now, wherever they had been taken, Corvo could hear the murmur of voices speaking to one another.  

“Did you know about this?”

The Outsider didn’t answer right away.  As far as Corvo could tell, he didn’t move, either.  As human as the Outsider now was, he didn’t appear to have any nervous ticks.  Hesitation, for him, meant that he went unnaturally still for a few moments.

“I did,” he finally said.  “But I never bothered to find out the exact directions to their... lair, I suppose you could say.  It never seemed relevant at the time, and at any rate, my mind is not a map.”

Corvo mulled over this response, deciding that he didn’t need to say anything in reply.  He was almost grateful that the Outsider’s eyes weren’t visible in the dark, because he could tell that he was staring at him, and the green unnerved him even more than the black had.  Maybe because the appearance of having normal, human eyes seemed like a lie, or a disguise.

“Were  _ you  _ truly unaware of their presence?” the Outsider asked.  “All your years doubling as Royal Protector and Spymaster, and you never noticed them?”

“I noticed,” Corvo said.  He felt his ears burn.  “They never outwardly caused any trouble.  Nothing overt like what their lieutenants did in Karnaca.  I left them alone.  It always seemed like a better use of my time to handle the Hatters.”

“I suppose it would have,” the Outsider said.  “At least, until you learned that your daughter’s life was in danger.  Again.”

Corvo wasn’t sure why that made him feel guilty.

“Why not go straight to her?” he asked.  “Why wait until I found you?  Emily’s one of your Marked.”

“So were you, once.  Void-based abilities or not, you are still very capable.”

The elicited a rough laugh from Corvo.  “Capable, but old.”

“Sometimes experience is an advantage.”

Corvo made a show of looking around the room before he remembered that the Outsider likely couldn’t see his face.  “You’d think it would be.”

“Nonsense,” the Outsider said.  “I have every confidence that you’ll get us both out of this alive, and in one piece.  That, or Billie will rescue us before either of us are able to do anything, which I admit does seem to be the more likely situation of the two.”

Corvo half-heartedly flipped him off.

* * *

 

The Outsider was seat at a booth in the corner of the inn, spooning some kind of watery vegetable soup into his mouth, when Billie stormed in.

Her hat had a dusting of snow on it - a rare occurrence in Dunwall, but not unheard of.  Her face looked to be stormier than the weather, however, and the Outsider wordlessly pushed the beer he’d ordered at her when she dropped into the seat across from him.  Her eyepatch was askew, almost revealing the stone where her right eye used to be; the Outsider gestured at it, and she quickly righted it.

“I’m not gonna lie,” she began, taking a swig of the beer.  “I was hoping you were messing with me, when you said there were other sects.”

“I try to make a point of  _ not  _ doing that.”

She shot him a withering look.  “Is that what you call thinking you could get away with trading our shoes, just because we have the same foot size?”

The Outsider shrugged.  “I call that being productive.”

“I told you I was going to buy you new ones.”

And she had.  The Outsider was wearing them right now, along with an overly large gray coat, a pair of suspenders, and cap he wore.  It was different enough from what he’d been wearing in the Void that most people looked straight through him, rather than at him, as they had when he and Billie had first gotten back to Karnaca proper.  In particular, an incident with a baker came to mind; the woman had gone white as a sheet upon seeing him, prompting Billie to drag him away.

The shoes were sturdy, and comfortable.  Much better than the ones he’d attempted to ‘borrow’ from Billie.  It was something of a comfort to him, knowing that he still had a knack for sticky fingers.

“So,” Billie said, when the Outsider said nothing in response.  “Do  _ you  _ have a plan, or should I come up with one?”

The Outsider opened his mouth to answer when the door to the inn banged open once more.  Nearly every patron jumped in their chair, and no one felt any better upon seeing three Overseers stride in, followed by someone that the Outsider had hoped (but did not expect) to see, ever since they arrived in Dunwall.

The presence of the Overseers, however, was less than preferable.  His eyes connected with Billie’s and he was certain that they were both able to hear the ‘shit’ that went through each other’s minds.

At least he had his cap, and his coat was still draped over his shoulders, hiding his slight frame.  Billie, however, was not so unrecognizable, even with the patch over her eye and the shaved head she’d been sporting since leaving Karnaca.

“We are conducting a search,” one of the Overseers announced.  “We received a tip-off that someone in this establishment is in possession of heretical artifacts.  Cooperate with our investigation, and we can be well on our way.”

The Outsider caught Billie’s eye, and minutely shook his head.  He hadn’t dared to touch a bone charm since being freed from the Void.  She shook her head in return (had been wise enough to divest herself of most of her bone charms before leaving Karnaca), and as one they directed their attention back to the Overseers.

Corvo had either not noticed them, or was merely pretending to not notice them.  His gaze, for all that it was darting around the room, didn’t flicker to them once.  That was enough for the Outsider to suspect that Corvo knew perfectly well that Billie Lurk was there, in the same room.  He was not so sure about himself.

Abruptly, Corvo said, “Search the rooms upstairs.  I’ll question everyone down here.”

One of the Overseers looked askance at Corvo.  “Lord Attano, are you - “

Corvo shot him a withering look.

“Yes, sir.”

The three Overseers marched up the stairs.  Corvo turned in one more circle around the room, observing the occupants, and this time his gaze met the Outsider’s.  The Outsider stared unabashedly back, one eyebrow raised; since when did Corvo have that much sway over the Abbey of the Everyman?

If Corvo recognized him, he gave no sign.  His stare lingered on the Outsider for no longer than it lingered on anyone else.  

After finished his circle, Corvo cleared his throat.  “No need for anyone to stand,” he said.  “I’m just going to go around to each table and ask a few questions.”

He started with the table closest to him, meaning that he’d be halfway around the room before he got to Billie and the Outsider’s table.  The Outsider caught Billie’s eye, then jerked his head at the inn’s back door and raising both eyebrows.  Billie shook her head, proving to the Outsider that yes, running was futile.

Billie somehow managed to stay completely relaxed while they waited.  Whether that was due to her ability to keep cool under pressure, or because of the alcohol she’d already imbued, was a mystery to the Outsider.  He himself was unable to stop gripping the edge of the table harder than was necessary.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Corvo arrived at the table.  The Outsider waited, breath held, as Corvo met his eyes, but there was no recognition there.  There was no recognition when he swept his gaze over to Billie, either.  Billie did nothing except raise her mug to him.

“This is mostly for formality’s sake,” Corvo began, and... well, Corvo had always been difficult to read, but now it was nigh impossible.  “To be honest, I doubt there’s any heresy here.  I’m just trying to be thorough, alright?”

Billie shrugged.  “Do what you have to do, Royal Protector.”  The Outsider almost rolled his eyes; there was the contempt that Billie always showed whenever she’d addressed Emily as ‘Empress’.  Not exactly the best strategy, but Billie didn’t seem worried, so he’d try not to worry, either.

The questions were, as Corvo said, frivolous at best, time-wasting at worst.  The Outsider and Billie both gave short, perfunctory answers, giving off the same air as the rest of the patrons: that they wanted to be left alone, and that they didn’t think much of the Abbey or the Royal Protector.  For the duration of their questioning, Corvo gave no sign that he knew who either of them were, and moved on to the next table without incident.

The Outsider glanced at Billie, both eyebrows raised in disbelief, but he faltered when he saw the smirk on her face.

By the time Corvo finished with the rest of the inn’s customers, the group of Overseers had stomped back down the stairs.  Their faces were covered, but the Outsider would have been willing to bet that behind them they wore scowls.  

“Nothing?” Corvo demanded, once he finished with the last table.

“No, Lord Protector,” one of the Overseers answered.  The Outsider could hear his gritted teeth.  

“Very well, then.”  Corvo stood aside to let the Overseers file out of the room, giving the inn patrons one more sweeping glance.  Then, without another word, he too left the inn, a blast of cold air following in his wake.

Ever so slowly, conversation started up again.  Everyone in the common room seemed startled, but they relaxed as they went back to their drinks and were soon speculating about what the Royal Protector was doing, searching an inn with a group of Overseers.  The Outsider had always known the value of listening, and listening was what he did now as he learned that the Overseers were much more loyal to the Empress now, owing to the fact that Emily had contributed greatly to their rebuilding.

He was only able to eavesdrop for a short time, however; a few minutes after Corvo’s departure, Billie stood.

“C’mon,” she said.  “I don’t know how long he’s going to wait.”

The Outsider stared at her blankly before he caught sight of the small slip of paper in her right hand.  

“How...?”

Billie shrugged.  “I’ve picked enough pockets to know how, though I didn’t see him do it.”

The Outsider rolled his eyes, debating on telling her that  _ he’d  _ picked enough pockets to know how as well, but he could’ve sworn that Corvo had barely come within arm’s length of either of them.

He bundled himself into his own coat, pulling the hood over his head, and followed Billie into the night.

* * *

 

“I can’t tell if you’re making an obscene gesture or not.”

Corvo snorted.  “‘Obscene’?  You sound like a noble.”

“Yes, well.”  He thought he saw the Outsider shrug.  “I found that people had a tendency to be more intimidated by me if I spoke like a citizen of high class, rather than the street rat that I was.”

Corvo tried to imagine the Outsider saying any of his cryptic bullshit with the slurred speech of a commoner.  The resulting image confused him, to say the least.

“So this group, the Eyeless,” he said, gesturing vaguely at the cell door.  “What do you and Billie Lurk have against them that would be enough for her to come back to Dunwall?”

Corvo didn’t know Billie very well - not nearly as well as his daughter, at any rate, but he knew enough.  He remembered the wanted posters that were plastered all over Dunwall back when Daud and his Whalers were still operating - there were almost as many for her as there had been for Daud himself.

After a moment, the Outsider said, “It’s personal.  For both of us.”

Corvo nodded, able to read between the lines, before remembering once again that the Outsider likely couldn’t see him.  But the Outsider continued.  

“I’m free, now, from what they did to me.  And yet... I... the memory is still there, burnt into my mind even after four thousand years in the Void, even now that I am human once again.  And I’ll never be free from... that.”

“Do you want to forget?” Corvo asked.

The Outsider was silent for a long moment.  Corvo got the impression that the Outsider was staring at him, even though it was hard to tell in the darkness.  He stared back, fighting the sudden urge to reach out.

“No,” the Outsider finally replied.  His answer was heavy with something other than the word itself.

Sometimes, Corvo wished he could forget.  He wished he could live a day without the memory of Jessamine’s blood spilling on the ground, and without the memory of the six months in Coldridge that followed.  He wished that he didn’t, on occasion, wake up with the feeling of blood welling up under his hands, trying in vain to keep Jessamine alive.

It felt like cheating.  Was it right to remember her life if he forgot the injustice of her death?

“That explains why  _ you’re  _ here,” Corvo pointed out.  “What about Billie?”

“You’d have to ask her.  It’s not for me to tell.”

* * *

 

Despite the time of day, it was easy to see where they were going as the Outsider and Billie made their way down Dunwall’s streets.  The snow on the ground seemed to lighten everything, a sharp contrast to Dunwall at night when there was no snow.  Even so, it was bitterly cold, and the Outsider found himself wishing for a scarf to protect his face.  

He knew that Billie hated the cold even more than he did, but she trudged onward, her face set in a look of steely determination.  It was an expression that the Outsider had grown familiar with, in his last few days in the Void.  

Billie led them through the streets with surety, retracing what were more than likely the steps of her childhood.  The snow did much to soften the usually-harsh facade of Dunwall, making the city look something close to appealing, though as far as the Outsider was concerned, it was ruined by the way the wind went right through his coat.  His thoughts wandered to the year 1789, when a fierce blizzard had struck the city, and how many homeless residents were only found in the spring, when their bodies began to thaw.

Of course, that had also been the year that inspired ‘The King in the Month of Ice’.  

After making one last right turn, Billie crossed the street, approaching the warm lights of a shop that was a few buildings down from the intersection.  The Outsider could just barely make out the clocks in the display through the fogged up windows.

He sighed in relief when they entered the shop, the warmth already starting to melt the snow that had gathered on his shoulders.  Billie nodded at the proprietor - a gaunt looking man wearing suspenders, who nodded back without even really looking at her - and headed towards the back of the shop without another word.  The Outsider followed.

The room they found themselves in was small and windowless, and filled with clutter.  Discarded projects from the shop owner, no doubt.  Seated on the only stool in the room, light from the lamp highlighting his features more harshly than the inn’s light had, was Corvo.  

“If you’re in Dunwall,” Corvo began, and though it was clear he was talking to Billie, he was looking at the Outsider, “then it means there’s trouble.”

“Wasn’t supposed to be trouble for you,” Billie admitted, drawing Corvo’s attention back to her.  “But since it is, I thought it was the least we could do to contact you and warn you.”

“You were vague about it,” Corvo accused.  “And do I even want to know how the Outsider is here, and not in the Void?”

“Not happy to see me?” the Outsider asked, smirking, trying to ignore the pang he felt at Corvo’s words.

“You’re even more trouble than Lurk.”

“Huh,” Billie said.  “Almost feels like an insult.”

“Emily knows that I’m meeting with you,” Corvo admitted, sounding tired rather than hostile.  “She insisted that no harm come to you.”

“Nice of her.”  Billie folded her arms.  “Do you wanna hear what I’ve got to say, or not?”

Corvo blinked, and then gestured for her to continue.  

The Outsider settled into a corner of the room that was relatively clear of clutter, leaning against the wall and watching while Billie explained the Eyeless, the threat they posed, how the Karnaca branch of the cult was all but destroyed but their counterparts in Dunwall lived on.  Corvo was an avid listener, straightening in his seat when the word ‘Eyeless’ was first mentioned.  The Outsider hadn’t paid much attention to Corvo’s dealings as Royal Spymaster, but now that he thought about it, it made sense that Corvo would, at least, be aware of the Eyeless’ existence.

He felt a small, surprising hint of anger at that.  If Corvo knew, why had he made no move against them?

_ He couldn’t have known that they were responsible for your fate _ , he told himself.   _ And you never would have told him.   _

Would he tell him now?  The Outsider wasn’t sure.

“We thought it was going to be simple,” Billie was saying, once he deigned to listen to the conversation again.  “Get in somehow, get proof of what the Eyeless do, and then tip off the Overseers, but one of the Eyeless let slip something about targeting the Empress.  We think that they know, Corvo.  About her Mark.”

Corvo froze, and the Outsider’s heart sank.  “ _ You _ didn’t know,” he deduced.

“Shit,” Billie muttered.

“It’s - “  Corvo struggled for words, but he at least didn’t appear to be angry.  “I can’t say I’m surprised.  I didn’t really think about it, but it makes sense, seeing as how she’s started to wear gloves.  Not to mention - the way she talked about Karnaca, it... some things didn’t add up.  They do now.”

The Outsider let out a long breath.  Billie looked almost as relieved as he felt, but a moment later her business mask was back in place.  “So, you in or out?”

Corvo’s eyes flicked between Billie and the Outsider.  The Outsider couldn’t figure out if it was better or worse than being ignored altogether, as he had been in the inn.

“I’m in,” Corvo finally answered.

* * *

 

“Is this revenge?” Corvo wondered aloud.  

The Outsider jerked up; apparently he’d been dozing off.  Corvo’s sight had adjusted enough that he could almost see the Outsider blinking rapidly.

“You’re not supposed to fall asleep.”

“Yes, well talking will help with that,” the Outsider said.  “And, well... stressed as I am, the chances of me actually falling asleep are very slim.  As to your question...”

“You don’t have to answer.”

“It’s an interesting one, though.”  As though that alone deemed it necessary to answer.  Corvo was already shaking his head, but the Outsider continued, undeterred.

“It would be a lie to say it isn’t,” he said.  “But it’s also to prevent them from hurting others in the same way.  Or at least, that’s what I tell myself.”  His chuckle was bitter.

Corvo thought about when the Eyeless had searched them for weapons upon their capture, and how the Eyeless had wrestled a long, thin dagger from the Outsider’s grip.  He remembered the hungry look in the Outsider’s eye as he had looked at it, as though he would have taken it and driven it into the cultist’s heart, if his and Corvo’s lives weren’t on the line.

“And here I thought you were above that,” Corvo said, before he could stop himself.  He wasn’t an idiot; he knew why Daud had lost the Outsider’s interest.

The Outsider was quiet for a long moment before he replied, “So did I.”

But that was the crux of the problem: it was easy to be above things like revenge when one stood above all other humans.  Now that the Outsider truly walked among them again, it was suddenly much more complicated for him, and for those around him.  Corvo wasn’t sure why Billie had taken the Outsider under her wing, especially since Emily had described her as the type who preferred to stay out of conflict.  At least, until now.

“They hit you,” the Outsider said suddenly.  “Let me see.”

He scooted closer to Corvo, suddenly next to him where before he’d been a couple of arm-lengths away.  Though startled by the change of subject, Corvo didn’t move, allowing the Outsider to examine him as much as he could in the darkness.  He remembered one of the Eyeless getting in a good wallop to his left eye before he and the Outsider had been subdued, and when the Outsider’s cold fingertips brushed just beneath his eye, he sucked in a breath.

“Hush,” the Outsider ordered.  “And here I thought you were the Royal Protector, able to withstand a small bruising.”

Corvo snorted.  “Didn’t hurt.  Your hand is cold.”

“Hmm.”

Before the Outsider could say anything else, and because Corvo could almost see that he was about to move away, he caught the Outsider’s hands between his own, wincing; it was like touching ice.  

“ _ Your _ hands are unfairly warm,” the Outsider complained, sagging against the wall next to Corvo.  “What, do you carry the Serkonan weather around with you?”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“I didn’t say that.”

They stayed like that, in silence for a few moments.  Corvo had been planning on letting go as soon as the Outsider’s hands had some semblance of warmth to them, but the Outsider didn’t move away, and when Corvo shuffled slightly it was the Outsider’s hands that wrapped around his, tightening.

Corvo looked at him.  The Outsider coughed.  “Sorry.  Should I...?”

“It’s fine.”

The position he was in got uncomfortable quickly, so Corvo disentangled his left hand, but left his right gripping the Outsider’s.  The Outsider didn’t even seem to notice, enough though he was angled even more awkwardly than Corvo had been - leaning with his back against the wall and yet still reaching out with both hands.  

If someone had told Corvo two weeks ago that he’d be sitting in a dark, narrow cell while the Outsider held his hand, he probably would’ve laughed.  And tried not to think about his presumably one-sided infatuation with the (former) god of the Void.

“We need to make a plan,” he said, beating his stray thoughts into submission.  “In case Lurk doesn’t come for us.”

“She will,” was the Outsider’s immediate response.

Corvo frowned.  “I don’t doubt her capabilities, but you realize that she’s one woman against a group of power-mad cultists who probably want to send you back to the Void.  I’m a bit surprised they didn’t react when they saw you.”

The Outsider scoffed.  “Give me  _ some  _ credit.  As if I would ever appear to these - “ and he spat a word in a sibilant language, the like of which Corvo had never heard before, punctuated with a hiss at the end.  The grip on his hand tightened to an almost crushing strength, before the Outsider visibly calmed.

“They only have hearsay for what I look like,” he explained.  “Besides, even if they did suspect - what in the Void would I be doing with a mere human?  They checked us both for Marks.  No, they think we’re just here to cause trouble.  And I’m no longer young; I’m not going to give myself away again.”

“We  _ are  _ here to cause trouble,” Corvo muttered.

“Details.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Corvo said, “I’ll die before I let them do that to you again.”  The Outsider may not have said exactly what that was, but Corvo had a few guesses.

The Outsider laughed.  It was a strange thing to hear, and it was rough, as though from disuse.  At the same time, his grip on Corvo’s hand tightened again.

“Do you know,” he mused, “that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

* * *

 

It was agreed that it would be for the best if Billie and the Outsider stayed in the inn; though Corvo had tentatively offered them a place to stay at the Tower, it would likely draw too much attention.  Not to mention that Corvo didn’t want Emily involved.  

“She’s got a better chance of stopping this than you do,” Billie had pointed out.  She’d glanced at the Outsider.  “If she still has her powers, that is.”

“That’s not the point,” Corvo had replied.  “She’s already got her hands full with a different investigation.  I may not exactly be in my prime anymore, but I should be able to handle this, at least.”

Thus, after bidding Corvo good night (or good morning, since they’d spent a good few hours planning), the two of them headed back through several inches of snow.  It occurred to the Outsider, as they were nearing the inn, that he’d never encountered snow before - not while he was alive, anyway.  

“Someone ought to ban this type of weather,” he grumbled.

“You’re telling me,” Billie said.

Finally, after what seemed like a far longer period of time than the conversation with Corvo, they arrived back at the inn.  Most of the patrons had retired to their rooms, so they didn’t receive looks from being out for so long.  They nodded at the bartender as they passed on their way to the stairs, and the Outsider could’ve sworn that it was the same Serkonan woman who had been there in the morning and afternoon.  Apparently she didn’t need sleep.

Exhaustion washed over him the minute he laid his eyes on his bed, looking inviting in spite of the chill that permeated the room.  He stripped off his coat and trousers quickly and crawled under the covers, curling into a ball to stave off the chill.  The sounds of Billie doing the same were enough to lull him to sleep.

Every night since the Outsider had been freed, he’d slept dreamlessly.  He’d been relieved after the first week, waiting for the other shoe to drop, believing that he was finally free of the curse that had made the cult target him in the first place.  

This time, however, he was not so lucky.

At first, it was only a series of blurred shapes and images, but before long they started to solidify.  They coalesced into something very, very vivid: the image of Corvo kneeling and glaring, while a shadowed figure held a knife to his neck.  

“No!” the Outsider shouted, but as soon as he spoke the image dissolved and he gasped awake.  Billie was crouched by his bedside, placed between himself and the door, a knife in her grasp.  

“Fucking Void,” she hissed, stowing the knife.  “I thought you were being attacked.  Nightmare?”

The Outsider nodded, unwilling to go into more detail than that.  It had all felt only too real - the defiance on Corvo’s face, the fear.  He remembered enough from his old life to know what a premonition looked like.  He remembered enough to know that it was no ordinary nightmare.

“I’m surprised you haven’t had one sooner,” Billie admitted, standing and heading back to her own bed.  

“I don’t have normal nightmares.”

“You shouted ‘no’ in your sleep and then woke up.  Sounded pretty normal to me.”

“I suppose, in that sense.”  The Outsider debated with himself for a few moments before adding, “But I mean, normal in the sense that most people would have nightmares about things that have already happened.”

There was a long pause after that.  Billie, who was in the process of climbing back into her bed, paused.  

“Are you saying that you dream about the future?”

“It’s not a guarantee.”  He’d had plenty, before, that never came to pass.  He hoped that this was one of them.

“But they do end up happening, sometimes.”

“Yes.”

Billie drew the bedclothes up to her chest, but remained sitting up.  “You wanna talk about it?”

The Outsider shook his head.

“Alright.  Let me know if you change your mind.”  She laid down, pulling the covers over her head.  What she said next was muffled, though not enough that the Outsider couldn’t understand it.  

“And try to get some sleep, please.  We’ll be busy tomorrow.”

* * *

 

The door was wrenched open, spilling light into the room.  Before Corvo’s eyes had time to adjust, he was hauled up by two burly-looking men - they were built like off-duty City Watchmen.  He put up a momentary struggle, just to test their strength, before coming to the conclusion that no, these men would not be easy to take down, especially when he was no longer armed.

He was pulled out of the cell, while two more men entered - presumably to do the same to the Outsider.  When they emerged with him, the Outsider was squinting at the light, but otherwise his head no longer seemed to bother him.

They were marched along, past more makeshift cells like they one they’d been in, past whale oil powered lamps that lined all of the halls.  Corvo’s two guards were talking around his head, but they weren’t saying anything that he didn’t already know, or that he found particularly useful.  

Everything in this place - an underground, forgotten section of the sewers - was makeshift, including the study they were shoved into.  Apart from a few spindly tables with tools and parts spread on them, there was little else to indicate that that was the function it served.  There was also a round table in the back of the room, which Corvo guessed was used for meetings.

Sitting in a couple of high-backed chairs (probably the nicest around), near the round table, were a man and a woman.  Corvo recognized the tall, almost gargantuan Tyvian woman, but the only-slightly-shorter man was unfamiliar.

“Lady Ursov,” he greeted, frowning.  “I didn’t know you took such an avid interest in heresy.”

“History,” she corrected absently.  “If we do not acknowledge the truth of what has happened in the past... well, I don’t even have to hypothesize.  The Overseers are already the perfect examples.”

Corvo didn’t answer.  Seemingly unbothered by his silence, Ursov continued.  

“You’ve never struck me as much of an Abbey follower.”  Her dark eyes flickered from him to the Outsider and back again, and Corvo had to wonder if the Outsider might have been wrong about the Eyeless failing to recognize him.  “And we’re not interested in bringing the Empress’ wrath down upon us by killing her Royal Protector and Spymaster.  If you agree to drop whatever baseless investigation this is, we’ll allow you and your associate to leave.”

Corvo raised an eyebrow.  “So I’m just going to pretend that you and a bunch of other random citizens don’t live down in an old part of the Dunwall sewers?”

“We’re hardly harming anyone.”

“Your compatriots in Karnaca might have begged to differ.”

Corvo hid his wince when the Outsider spoke up.  Up until now he’d been playing dumb, since Ursov was doing the same and seemed to have no intention of revealing her plot against Emily.  Now, however, the Eyeless would have a much better idea of why Corvo and the Outsider were there, and would be much less hesitant to kill them both.

“Yes,” Ursov replied, surprising Corvo by keeping her cool.  “They have been making a name for themselves lately, haven’t they?  Fools.”

Corvo decided to put his cards on the table.  “Imagine what the papers will print about the Eyeless in Dunwall after they make an attempt on the Empress’ life.”

A kind of stillness fell over the room at his words.  Both the man’s and the woman’s eyes snapped to him when he said that.  The grip that his two guards had on him tightened.  The Outsider, by contrast, had something of a smirk on his face, as though he was enjoying their momentary panic.

Void, he probably was.

Ursov was watching Corvo like a hawk.  “Remember what I said about ‘baseless’?”

“I know how to read a room,” Corvo responded.  “I doubt my accusations are ‘baseless’, with the reaction that everyone just had.”

Ursov pursed her lips, clearly prepared to argue further, when the Outsider cut in.

“Petrella Ursov,” he began; Corvo almost rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming next.  “When you were nine years old, your father first took you on a hunting trip out in the frozen wilds.  Even then, you were intelligent enough to recognize that his inclusion of you was only because of his longing for a son.  You knew that, eventually, your mother would convince him that you would need to be married off like a proper lady.  You ran away in the night and nearly froze to death before you were found - the prospect terrified you so.”

The room once again seemed to freeze, and Corvo found himself counting the seconds until the other shoe dropped.  And the shoe did, indeed, drop, with both Ursov and the man with her stood from their chairs.  The man took a few steps forward, and Corvo noted the bone charm that he held in his right hand.

“He isn’t lying,” the man said.

Another pause.  Then - 

“ _ You _ ,” breathed Ursov.

“Me,” the Outsider replied, sounding bored.  

“We knew you had left the Void, but we believed you were - “

“Dead.  I’m aware.”  The Outsider sent her a bitter smile.  “Dead once, in service to you all, and dead again, because to you that was the only possible conclusion.  I suppose the alternative was even worse for you to contemplate.  The Outsider, actually having the chance to live out his life - “

“Then you, of all people, should understand the necessity of our plan,” snapped Ursov, showing more fervor than she had in her entire conversation with Corvo.  “Emily Kaldwin retains your Mark, as well as its power.  She retains that connection.  The Void  _ needs  _ an avatar.”

Corvo’s blood ran cold.

“The Void needs nothing,” the Outsider countered.  “And the fact that the Eyeless has somehow survived on thousands of years of misunderstanding and lies astounds me, frankly.  Do you truly believe that Emily Kaldwin will answer any of you if you make her into the Void’s avatar?  She’s far better at holding grudges than I.”

Ursov glared at the Outsider.  “We could put  _ you  _ back.”

The Outsider paled.

The man, however, was shaking his head.  “There is nothing tethering him anymore,” he said, jerking his head towards the Outsider.  I doubt the ritual would take a second time.”

The Outsider sniffed derisively, though Corvo could see that he was shaking.  “You wouldn’t have even given me a new scar.  Unoriginal.  Boring.”

The man nodded at Corvo.  “He has a connection.”

Ursov raised both eyebrows, turning back to Corvo.  Corvo suppressed a grimace, aware that whatever ‘connection’ he had probably lingered even after Delilah had taken his Mark away.  

“The fact that you’re even discussing this proves your lack of intelligence,” the Outsider said.  “You don’t have the Knife.”

The man shrugged.  “I can find it.”

Somehow, Corvo didn’t doubt him.  He thought of Billie, who was likely finished checking out her lead by now, and was probably wondering why they hadn’t yet met up with her.  How long would it be before she came looking for them?  And if she did, wouldn’t she be walking straight into a trap?

“No,” Ursov finally said.  “We’ll stick to the original plan.  But at least one of you should be kept alive.  As a witness to the new era.”

She strode forward, and that was when Corvo noticed the curved dagger she held in her grasp.  He struggled for a moment, but the guards were immovable, and within seconds, Ursov held the blade to his throat.

* * *

 

This time, they met Corvo in an abandoned artist’s studio.  Paint marks smudged the wall, and there were brushes that had gone stiff and half-finished canvases strewn about.  It didn’t help that the walls had clearly once been pristine; the Outsider hoped that it hadn’t been the painters who had thought that that would be a good idea.

Corvo was seated on a stool in the middle of the studio.  He wasn’t dressed in his navy Royal Protector’s coat this time; instead he wore a frayed jacket and a pair of boots that looked like they’d seen better days.  It wasn’t much of a disguise, but Corvo had always excelled at going unnoticed.  All he needed to do was make sure people wouldn’t look at him a second time.  

“I was starting to think you wouldn’t make it,” he said.

Billie shot him a disbelieving glance.  “We’re here on time,” she said.  “ _ You _ were just too early.”

“No such thing,” Corvo countered.  

Billie rolled her eyes.  

Between the three of them, they were planning on checking out two parts of Dunwall that day.  The Outsider had expected to accompany Billie to the Distillery District, but to his surprise, Billie suggested that he go with Corvo to the Estate District instead.  

“Unless you two can’t handle that,” she said.

The Outsider shrugged.  “I don’t see why not.”  Corvo was silent on the matter, but he nodded when Billie looked at him.

She took the Outsider aside just before they went their separate ways.  Corvo was in the other room, checking all the weapons on his person (he didn’t seem to have his folding sword; Emily must have kept it).

Billie folded her arms, nodding at his boot.  “Is it there?”

In answer, the Outsider pulled out the small knife he kept in the lining.

“Good,” Billie said.  “If you don’t remember anything else from our lessons when the time comes, do you think you could at least remember to stick them with the sharp bit?”

“What?  I thought I was supposed to knock them over the head with the handle.”

Billie nudged him with her foot, rolling her eyes.  “You’ll be fine.  Corvo isn’t dumb enough to let you die.”

The Outsider smiled.  “I certainly hope not.”

Billie reached out and clasped his shoulder, smiling back at him.  It had become her go-to gesture of affection, these past few months.  She wasn’t one for hugs, though there had been a few times when she’d made an aborted movement that the Outsider suspected would have resulted in an awkward embrace.  

“Try not to get into too much trouble,” Billie said.

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”

Billie was the first one to leave, slipping out the door like she was nothing more than a shadow.  The Outsider turned around in time to see Corvo looking impressed as he watched her go, before he turned his attention to the Outsider.  

“Shouldn’t take us long to get to the Estate District from here,” Corvo said, leading the way out the door.  

There was still snow on the ground, though a good deal of it had been packed down by Dunwall’s citizens, trudging through the drifts in order to get on with their lives.  The sun saw fit to peek out from behind the clouds that day, its weak light still enough to make the snow almost blinding.  The Outsider found himself appreciating the sight, as it was both different from the emptiness of the Void and the vibrance and warmth of Karnaca.  After this, if he and Billie decided to go elsewhere, he would suggest Tyvia as their next stop.

The Estate District almost looked like something out of a Morlish fairy tale, though the Outsider found himself wrinkling his nose at the decadence and excess.  Corvo had pulled down his hood and was no longer making an effort to disguise who he was, though many passers-by were doing double takes at the sight.  No doubt they were wondering if that really  _ was  _ the Royal Protector, dressed in such lower-class clothing.  The Outsider himself received a few curious glances as well, purely for being in Corvo’s company.

A couple of City Watch guards nodded at Corvo as they passed, seemingly unconcerned with his presence.

The sewer entrance was in the heart of the Estate District, in a square just beside the Wrenhaven.  The Wrenhaven was frozen and also covered in snow, giving the illusion that it was still.  The Outsider paused, remembering seeing unsuspecting people fall through the ice, only to be swept away beneath it.

He shivered, and trotted to catch up with Corvo.

The entrance was a gaping maw next to the Wrenhaven, at a section of the river where a walkway led down to the waterside.  The Outsider remembered that Jessamine’s father, Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin, had ordered this part of the sewer to be closed, as there had been complaints about the waste being directed into the Wrenhaven.  Instead, a new sewage system had been hastily built, and fed into the one that led to the sea, which was used by the rest of the city.

The Outsider had always found it ironic.  But then, he’d never expected the Kaldwins to give two shits (pun intended) about aquatic life.

The tunnel they entered was dark, and their footsteps echoed through it.  Any sewage that had passed through it had long since dried up, though the smell remained.  The Outsider was unsurprised when, every so often, they came across a body.  A plague victim, hidden by whichever noble family, left down here to rot.  He’d been sorely tempted to offer his Mark to one such unfortunate.

There wasn’t much light down there, apart from the occasional natural light that came from the grates above them - the ones that weren’t covered, at any rate.  And that, in and of itself, was a problem; from what the Outsider had observed, there were always people scattered around in Dunwall’s sewers, but this section was curiously absent of the homeless, huddled around makeshift fires.  That was enough to raise his suspicions.

Corvo, he noticed, grew uneasy as well.  His steps slowed, and he gestured for the Outsider to be silent as they were passing beneath another grate.  A rat skittered past their feet, making the Outsider jump.

Eventually, he was able to make out a light up ahead - this time flickering lamp light as opposed to the dreary light from up above.  Corvo moved in front of the Outsider, his footsteps becoming completely silent as he paused at the next intersection, peering around the corner.  

A shuffling noise behind the Outsider had him whirling around.  He saw only a grim face before his head was grabbed and smashed into the wall.

Miraculously, he managed not to lose consciousness.  His fall even alerted Corvo, who pivoted seamlessly and - in a move that the Outsider couldn’t really make out with his blurred vision - managed to get the attacker into a headlock, though not before the man shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Outsider winced, fumbling with the knife in his boot until he managed to pull it out.  Three more thugs hurried around the corner, and the Outsider lashed out, feeling his blade meet resistance.  His feeling of triumph was short-lived, as he was kicked hard in the side before Corvo could rush the three.

The Outsider managed to drag himself away from the fight, trying to gather the strength to stand up again.  Pain radiated through his head whenever he moved too quickly, but eventually he forced himself up onto his feet, still clutching the knife (now smeared with blood).  By that point in time, one of the the three attackers was lying on the ground, unmoving, while another moved with a decided limp.  

He waited until the limping one had his back to him before the Outsider threw himself at him, plunging his knife into his back.  The man howled, managing to backhand the Outsider as he whirled around, but it was the only opening that Corvo needed, and he was dispatched quickly.  There was no time for fear, even though the Outsider could feel his heart beating against his ribcage.

One man remained.  The Outsider was about to back away and let Corvo handle it, knowing he would only get in the way, when four more Eyeless (because they  _ had  _ to be Eyeless) rounded the corner.

His stomach dropped to his boots.

Corvo didn’t see them; he was still preoccupied with his opponent.  The Outsider hurried forward, holding up his knife with shaking hands, ready to defend Corvo in spite of his inexperience.  

He managed to parry the first few strikes, but it was four against one, and he soon found both his arms grabbed and his knife wrested from his grasp.  He struggled furiously, even going so far as to bite one of his captive’s hands, but he froze when he felt cold metal at his throat.  

The sensation was all too familiar.  Suddenly it was the day he’d died, all over again.

“Surrender,” one of them ordered, “or he dies.”

The Outsider was hauled around to face Corvo, trying to shake his head to convince Corvo not to agree.  He could barely move, however, and the small movement he did make was enough to make his head throb again.

Corvo froze, holding his short sword in a backhand grip, his eyes on the Outsider.  It was only a few moments before he dropped his blade and raised his hands up into the air.

* * *

 

The Outsider shouted a word that Corvo didn’t recognize.  Likely more of whatever his first language had been, if he had to guess.  It was little more than a panicked shout - a sound of desperation - yet it was enough to make Ursov pause, even though the blade had begun to bite into Corvo’s skin.

“I didn’t know you were capable of caring,” she said, looking over at the Outsider.

“That was always your mistake,” hissed the Outsider.

Ursov laughed.  “Is that why you never appeared to us?  Because you  _ cared  _ too much?”

The Outsider, in spite of being made to kneel by his two guards, somehow managed to straighten.  

“You,” he spat, “and all of the fools who call themselves ‘Eyeless’ - you always thought that if you prayed hard enough or performed enough rituals, then I would appear to you.  You never realized that I have  _ never _ , and will never, forgive you for stealing my life from me.  I wasn’t exactly living in the lap of luxury, but it was  _ mine _ .”

“And this is relevant because...?”

The Outsider smiled.  “Because Emily Kaldwin won’t do you the kindness of ignoring you.  If you do to her what you did to me, she will  _ destroy  _ you.”

It was almost as if his words had some kind of triggering effect, because at that moment there was a scream from the passageway behind them.  Ursov and her partner directed their attention to the doorway, both with wary looks on their faces, and Corvo felt a small glimmer of hope that they might get out of this.

“What is it?” Ursov asked the nameless man.

He looked at her for a long moment, then extended a fist and closed his eyes.  They snapped back open almost instantly, and his skin turned gray.

“I... I don’t know,” he whispered.

“What do you  _ mean _ , you don’t - “

The door banged, open, and before Corvo even had time to blink he was released, and Ursov was choking on her own blood.  The nameless man met with a similar fate only a moment later.  Corvo looked over at the Outsider, breathing a sigh of relief when he realized that the Outsider was also freed, his two guards lying on the floor next to him.

Before Corvo even had time to move, the Outsider was next to him, his hand hovering between them.

“Your throat.  She - “

“Didn’t cut deep enough to hurt me,” Corvo reassured him.  “I’m alright.”

“Good.”  They both turned towards Billie, who dismissed the Knife back to... wherever it was she kept it.  “I see that I almost didn’t make it in time.”

“And yet you did,” the Outsider said, sending her an exhausted smile.  He stood up and stumbled over to her next, wrapping his arms around her carefully, as though he expected her to flinch away.  Corvo hid a smile at the sight, looking away when Billie tentatively hugged the Outsider back.

“Do I get a hug, too?” he joked.

Billie rolled her eyes at him, pulling away from the Outsider.  “You can go hug your daughter when you get back to the Tower,” she instructed.  “There might be a few members that we missed, but for the most part, that’s the end of the Eyeless in Dunwall.  She should be out of danger.”

Corvo nodded.  “Thank you.  Both of you.”

“You’re welcome,” Billie said.  The Outsider echoed her.  “But how about, before we do anything else, we get out of this hellhole?  Before it starts to smell, I mean.”

* * *

 

Because it had been a long day, and Billie was never fond of long days, she suggested that the three of them get a drink back at the inn.  That didn’t surprise the Outsider.  What did surprise him was how readily Corvo agreed, sounded like he’d like nothing more than to have a pint of ale and then sleep for the next three days.

The Outsider felt the same.  Minus the pint of ale.

They drank in silence, seated around a table close to the fire, the Outsider sipping his pear soda and wishing that he’d had more courage when it had just been him and Corvo.  A prison cell wasn’t exactly the best place for a heart-to-heart, but he needed Corvo to know.  At least, he needed Corvo to know before he and Billie left to hunt down the next Eyeless sect.

At some point, Billie went up to talk to the innkeeper to see if she could haggle the price for their stay down.  The Outsider fiddled with his soda before looking at Corvo.

“You could’ve run,” he said.

Corvo paused, then deliberately put down the mug he held.  “I wouldn’t have.”

“I know,” the Outsider admitted.  “But you could have.  So thank you, anyway.”

They fell silent again, and he got the sense that Corvo was struggling to say something.  He waited patiently, drinking more of his soda.  He’d gotten very good at waiting, in his four thousand years in the Void.

“I think it’s brave of you,” Corvo finally said.  “To be doing what you’re doing.  To confront the people who... took your life away.  That takes courage.”

“It’s what you would’ve done.”

Corvo chuckled.  “I hope that following my example isn’t the only reason.”

“It isn’t.”  The Outsider drained the rest of his drink.  “It’s... mine was not the only life they stole, but in the Void I contented myself with only watching from afar.  It was... a struggle, in there, to hold onto any of my emotions.  With my attention mostly on that, it seemed foolish to put all of my efforts on a struggle that could have led to me losing myself.  It sounds strange, but...”

Corvo shrugged.  “I don’t know if I fully understand, but it sounds like you did what you had to do to survive.”

_ But I didn’t survive, _ the Outsider almost said - except he had, in a roundabout way.

“I suppose,” he allowed.  “Now, though - now I feel as though I finally have the chance to put a stop to their madness.  And it  _ is  _ madness, even if many of their rituals do succeed, in some small measure.  Tampering with the Void has led to many atrocities, and though there are a few groups out there who do it for the betterment of others, the Eyeless is not one of those groups.  I feel as though I will only find peace once they are gone.”

“You might not,” Corvo warned.

“I’m aware.  But I won’t know unless I try.  And at least this way, they won’t be able to hurt anyone else.  Like Emily.  Or Billie.  Or you.”

“I wish you the best of luck, then.”

The Outsider looked back over at the counter.  Billie was still arguing with the innkeeper, but he could tell from her stance that she was still relaxed and confident.  Whatever deal she was attempting to make, it was going well.  

“Corvo,” he said, turning back around.  Corvo’s eyes met his.  “After this is over... would it be alright if I came back and visited you?  I - “

He didn’t know where his train of thought was going, and he fell silent as he struggled for words.  Corvo didn’t seem to know what to say, either, because he took another sip of his ale before he spoke.  The Outsider held his breath.

“I’d like that,” Corvo finally answered.

The Outsider smiled, and raised his glass.  

“I suppose I’ll see you then.”

They clinked their glasses together just as Billie rejoined them, a smug grin on her face that told the Outsider that they’d have to worry less about how much coin they’d have by the time they made it to Tyvia.  With Billie at his side, and with Corvo waiting, he finally had a future to look forward to.


End file.
